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7. 







READINGS 



FOR 



THE SAINTS' DAYS, 



BY 



i. €. €. 



PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY. 



1865. 



.&*■■ 



7/^ origin and primary object of these Readings for 
the Saints* Days are sufficiently indicated in the Introduction, 
which describes a conversation not wholly imaginary. 

The Lessons conveyed having been found to be interesting and 
useful at home, the series was printed last year in the successive 
numbers of a little monthly publication, i The Magazine for the 
Young! with the hope that other children might share in the 
interest and benefit. 

The Papers are now collected together, mainly for the purpose 
of being offered to loving Friends — and they are many — who, it is 
thought, will recognise, as they read, traces of mind and character, 
which won and retained their love in past days, and which remain 
imprinted on affectionate memory. 





2Q&449 


Christ's College, 


5 13 


June, 1865. 





TO OUR CHILDREN 

THE FOLLOWING READINGS, 

WRITTEN BY THEIR MOTHER FOR THEIR INSTRUCTION, 

ARE NOW INSCRIBED, 

IN MEMORY OF HER. 



IntrotmrtiMt* 



" Here is the patience of the saints : here are they that keep 
the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus!' 



"Mamma, mamma," said little Mary Murray, as she came 
bounding into the room, "why are the church bells ringing 
this morning?" and then with a sudden change of tone, seeing 
her mother with her bonnet on, " Oh, mamma, are you going 
out? mayn't I go with you?" 

" Not to day, dear," replied Mrs Murray ; " I am going to 
church — the bells are ringing for service." 

" But it is not Sunday, mamma ; why is there service to 
day?" 

" Because it is a Saint's Day, my child," said her mother ; 
"this is the feast of St Andrew." 

" Oh, dear mamma, do tell me who St Andrew was, and 
what you mean by a Saint's day," exclaimed Mary. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Mrs Murray smiled at her little girl's eager face as she 
said, " I cannot now, my darling ; but if you like it, I will tell 
you, before you go to bed, the story of St Andrew." 

" A story ! oh, thank you, thank you, mamma." And Mary 
began jumping about with delight. 

Her mother gently checked her. " Listen, dear Mary ; the 
stories of the blessed Saints are chiefly told us in the Bible, 
and you know, when we are reading any of God's Holy Word, 
we must be quiet and reverent. If you will try and remember 
this, I will prepare a little history, which I will read to you on 
the Saints' Days as they come. We will try and find out what 
particular lesson we are to learn from each Saint — and what 
else, Mary?" 

" Remember it, mamma," whispered Mary. 

"Yes; all Scripture, you know, is written for our learning; 
and I think you are old enough now to understand the lessons 
that the examples of the blessed Saints teach us, and to profit 
by them ; so when you come to my room this evening we will 
begin." 

" Now, dear mamma, please will you tell me about St An- 
drew?" said Mary, as she climbed up into her mother's lap just 
before bed-time, and nestled into her favourite attitude for lis- 
tening to a story. 



-4- 



M gn&reto* 



" He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth 
life, righteousness, and honour" 



In the country where our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ lived when 
He was on earth, there was a lake or large piece of water. This 
was often called a sea; for, although the water in it was not 
salt, it looked almost like the sea, and often great waves rose 
in it, and tossed the little boats sailing upon it, up and down. 

It had two or three names, but you may call it, and remem- 
ber it as, the Sea of Galilee. 

Near this lake or sea was a small town, called Bethsaida ; and 
there two brothers lived. 

The one whom I am going to tell you about to-day was 
named Andrew, and, because he was a very good and holy man, 
we call him Saint Andrew. A saint, you know, is a very good 



ST ANDREW. 



person, one who loves God, and strives to do His Holy Will. The 
history of St Andrew will explain to you all it means. 

St Andrew was a fisherman, and he used to go on the water 
in a little ship to catch fish. Then he would sell the fish, and 
go and buy things he wanted with the money people gave him 
for them. I think even then St Andrew was a good man, be- 
cause, as you will hear, he was one of the first people who listened 
to our Blessed Lord. 

One day St Andrew was throwing a net into the water to 
catch the fish, when the Lord Jesus passed by. He called him, 
saying, "Andrew, follow me!" Directly, St Andrew rose up, 
left his nets, and went after his Lord, and the Lord loved him 
for being so ready to go with Him. All the while our Saviour 
was on earth, St Andrew was with Him, and was one of His 
disciples ; and when He sent twelve of His disciples to preach 
and teach the people, St Andrew was one. Each of these 
twelve was called an Apostle, that is, one who is sent. St An- 
drew loved the Lord Jesus Christ so much, that he tried to 
make others love Him too ; and we read in the Bible that he 
brought people to see Him, that they might know how kind 
and good He was. After a while, you know, wicked men cru- 
cified the Lord Jesus ; that is, they nailed His hands and His 
feet to a Cross ; and He died. You know why the Son of God 



ST ANDREW. 



thus suffered death. It was to save us from our sins. You 
also know that He rose again the third day from the dead ; 
and soon afterwards He ascended up into Heaven, going back 
to God. Then the Apostles all went different ways, and taught 
people in many countries to believe in the Blessed Saviour. 

St Andrew went his way. What further I shall tell you 
concerning him is not contained in the Holy Scriptures ; but 
still we may believe it as being generally true. 

In one place the people were very cruel, and used to kill 
any strange person who happened to come to their country. 
But St Andrew had God's message to take, and so God took 
care of him, and he passed safely through. In another place, 
the wicked people burned the house in which St Andrew was 
living, and dragged him out and trampled on him ; but again God 
took care of him, and he got well, and went on his way. At 
last the time came when his Master, whom he had served so 
well on earth, called him to come to Him in Heaven. St 
Andrew went to a city where the people did not pray to God 
or love Him, and they hated good St Andrew. Then they tried 
to persuade him to leave off praying, and at last they said, if 
he did not deny the blessed Saviour — that means a sad and dread- 
ful thing, to say that the Lord Jesus Christ was not the Son of 
God — he should be killed. But St Andrew was glad ; for he knew 



ST ANDRE W. 



that any one, who was put to death for Christ's sake, should 
have a beautiful crown given him in Heaven, and should be 
one of God's holy martyrs. St Andrew, then, was glad to die 
rather than do a wicked thing. The cruel people fastened him 
to a cross and he died, praying to God to forgive those wicked 
people, even as Christ prayed for His murderers, and thanking 
God that He had called him to be a martyr. 

My little one, I want you to think that St Andrew followed 
the Lord Jesus all his life long, and did what his Lord liked. 
I want you to try to be like him ; for though we cannot see 
all that the holy St Andrew saw, or do exactly as he did, we 
can still follow his example. One way is by being ready to 
give up what we like to please another. Will you remember 
this when you think of St Andrew? 



M C&omasu 



The child-like faith, that asks not sight, 
Waits not for wonder or for sign; 

Believes, because it loves aright, 

Shall see things greater, things divine. 



THERE is not so much known about the early life of St Thomas 
as I told you of St Andrew's. He was most likely a fisherman 
also, and went in his boat on the beautiful lake ; but the Bible 
does not tell us where he lived. He is mentioned as "Thomas, 
who is called Didymus" — the word Didymus means a twin ; 
so it is supposed that St Thomas had a twin brother or sister, 
that is, a brother or sister just as old as he was himself. No 
doubt he loved this twin very dearly. 

We do not know what St Thomas was doing when the Lord 
Jesus Christ first called him to follow Him, but we do know 
that he was one of the twelve Apostles, and that thenceforth 



ST THOMAS. 



he was always with his Lord : so that, like St Andrew, he also 
"left all, and followed Him." He is not often mentioned in 
the Bible, but what is told of him shews us that he loved his 
Master very tenderly. 

Once the Lord Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and the 
disciples all tried to persuade Him not to go; for they said, 
the Jews (as the people who lived in Judea were called, and 
who, you know, did not love the Lord Jesus Christ, or believe 
in Him) would take Him and perhaps kill Him. But St Thomas 
said, "Let us go, that we may die with Him." He loved his 
Lord so much that he was ready to die with Him, rather than 
leave Him. 

Now I must tell you of a sad part of St Thomas's history. 
Even the most holy saints sometimes do wrong ; for they need 
to pray always for God's grace, lest they should yield (that is, 
give way) to temptation. St Thomas's fault was want of faith. 
Faith, my child, is believing what we cannot understand. Even 
a little child can understand this. If we tell Baby not to touch 
the candle or the fire, because it will burn him, he believes us 
and does not touch it, although he cannot understand why it 
should hurt him ; so when God tells us things we do not un- 
derstand, we must not doubt, or say, "How can this be?" but 
simply believe. 



*- 



ST THOMAS. 



After our Blessed Lord had risen again from the grave, He 
was not always with His disciples, but only shewed Himself to 
them now and then. St Thomas was not with those who first 
saw Him after His Resurrection ; and when the other disciples 
said to him, " We have seen the Lord," he did not believe 
that the good news that Christ had risen was true; so he said 
sadly, "Except I put my finger into the print of the nails, and 
thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." This was very 
wrong ; but St Thomas was very unhappy. He had loved his 
Lord so dearly, he had suffered so much when the Lord was put 
to that cruel death upon the Cross, that he could not believe. 

Eight days after our Lord's Resurrection the disciples were 
again assembled together, St Thomas being with them, and the 
doors shut, when the Lord Jesus suddenly stood in the midst. 
Being God, He knew all things, and knew St Thomas's doubting 
speech. He looked sadly yet in pity on him, and said, "Reach 
hither thy finger, and behold My hands, and reach hither thy 
hand, and thrust it into My side : and be not faithless, but be- 
lieving." Then St Thomas did believe, and he said, "My Lord 
and my God!" Once more we hear of him while the Lord 
Jesus Christ was yet on earth. He was fishing with St Peter 
in the lake when the Lord appeared and spoke to them ; so 
we see that he was forgiven for his want of faith. 



-* 



io ST THOMAS. 



After our Lord's Ascension, St Thomas is said to have gone 
into countries far away from his own home, and from the beau- 
tiful city of Jerusalem, teaching people about the Saviour. At 
last he came to India ; the people there have dark skins, and 
St Thomas half feared to go amongst them ; but it is told 
that he learnt in a dream that God would help him, so he 
went and worked for the Master he loved so well, winning many 
of the poor heathen to believe on Jesus Christ. He was re- 
markable for his love and gentleness. Those of the people, 
who would not listen to him, hated him because he was so 
good and holy, and because he wished them to leave their evil 
ways; and at last they determined that they would put him to 
death ; so one day when he had gone into a quiet place to 
pray to God, they followed him, and threw sharp spears and 
lances upon him, till he died. 

Our lesson from St Thomas is, of faith — to believe without 
doubt or question, when it is our duty, even what we cannot 
understand, and to shew forth our faith by doing the things 
that Jesus loves — that so it may be a living faith, acceptable 
unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 



Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you' 



The Saint, whom the Church remembers to-day, was not one of 
the twelve Apostles, nor one of our Lord's disciples; he did not 
even know the Blessed Jesus when He was on earth. St Stephen 
has a glory all his own. He was the first martyr- — that is, the 
first person whom the Lord called to die for Him. It is a 
glorious thing to be allowed to suffer for Christ: and now St 
Stephen sits on His right hand in Heaven, wearing a " radiant 
coronet, all gemmed with pure and living light," which is laid 
up in Heaven for martyrs. 

My little girl can hardly understand yet why we think of 
St Stephen with so much reverence; but she must believe that 
he is one of God's holiest Saints, and by and by, as she grows 
older, she will understand more and more about it. Now I will 
tell you all I can about St Stephen. When the Lord Jesus 



12 ST STEPHEN. 



Christ ascended into Heaven, He left this command to His dis- 
ciples, " Go and teach all nations;" and this they did, and God 
so blessed their labours, that very soon a great multitude of 
Jews believed. Those believers, who were rich, gave the Apostles 
money to give away to the poor people ; and after a while it 
came to pass that a dispute arose (they did not agree about 
it) concerning the way that this money, called "alms," was 
given ; so the twelve Apostles appointed seven men to look 
after the alms, and give them away properly. These men were 
called deacons, and St Stephen was one. He also had to teach 
and to preach about the Lord Jesus. The first thing we are 
told of him is, "he was full of faith and of the Holy Ghost." 
You remember your hymn which says 

" God the Holy Ghost is here, 
Dwelling in our hearts, to make us 
Kind and holy, good and dear." 

I think you know what being filled with the Holy Ghost 
means. And again we read that St Stephen " did great won- 
ders and miracles among the people;" and that, when he spoke 
about the Saviour, some, who had been in foreign countries, dis- 
puted with him, but " were not able to resist the wisdom and 
the spirit by which he spake." 



ST STEPHEN. 13 



But, after a little while, the wicked Jews, who had crucified 
the Lord Jesus Christ, began to hate His holy servant St Stephen, 
and thought how they might put him to death. They were very 
wicked people, and it is sad to have to tell you about them; 
but you will see how it was proved to them that God loved St 
Stephen, and watched over him in his trouble. Some of the Jews 
found men, who were ready to say anything for money, even 
what was not true; and they said things about St Stephen, 
which were wholly false; and the elders or chief men among 
them, who had power to judge and to punish wrong-doers, be- 
lieved them, and brought St Stephen before them, and asked 
him a great many questions. 

While they were talking to him, his face grew very bright — 
even like an angel's face. He spoke to them for a long time, 
and told them many good and beautiful things; but the hearts 
of the people were very hard, they would not listen to his good 
words. Then St Stephen looked stedfastly up to Heaven, and 
he saw a wonderful and comforting sight. He saw Heaven 
opened, and the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right 
hand of God. After such a glorious sight, St Stephen did not 
fear what man could do to him; and though the cruel people 
threw great stones on him till he died, they could not make 
him ciy out; he kneeled down, and said "Lord Jesus, receive my 



14 ST STEPHEN. 



spirit;" and his last words were praying God to forgive those, 
who had caused his death. 

He died so peacefully, that it is said "he fell asleep," as 
quietly and happily as a little baby falls asleep. But his awaken- 
ing in glory we can only partly imagine; for "eye hath not 
seen, nor ear heard, nor can our hearts conceive, the good things 
God has prepared for them that love Him." 



J>t 3o$n tfie ©bangelfet 



Jfp little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue ; but 
in deed and in truth? 



St John is called Evangelist, because he wrote one of the four 
Gospels. The word Gospel means "good tidings" or news, and 
Evangelist means a bringer of good tidings. There were four 
Evangelists, and, under the guidance of God's good Spirit, these 
holy men wrote for our instruction an account of all they had 
heard and seen of our Blessed Lord's doings on earth. And the 
special message of good news that they had to give was, that 
Jesus Christ had died to save all people from their sins. 

St John was quite young when he first began to go with 
our Blessed Lord. His father was a fisherman named Zebedee; 
and his mother's name was Salome. She was one of the women, 
who went to see our Saviour in the grave, and found Him risen. 
St John had a brother called James, of whom you will hear by 



ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 



and by. St John was doing his duty like a good son, when 
he was first called by our Lord. He was mending the fishing 
nets that were torn and worn; but when Jesus called him, "he 
left all and followed Him." 

He was one of the twelve Apostles, — the twelve whom the 
Saviour specially called to be with Him, and sent to teach and 
to preach to all people. St John was the youngest of all the 
Apostles, but none were before him in love and devotion to our 
Lord. There is a great deal told us about him in the Bible — so 
much that I cannot now tell you nearly all; when you are older 
you will, I hope, read it for yourself. He was always with his 
Divine Master; and he was called "that disciple whom Jesus 
loved," so we may be quite sure he was very good, and never 
faltered in his ardent love and obedience. He seems to have 
treasured up every word that our Lord said, for the Gospel 
which he wrote is full of the conversations and sayings of our 
Blessed Saviour. 

Once, a great man in Jerusalem sent to tell Jesus that his 
little daughter was dead. He took only three of His disciples, 
one of whom was St John, when He went to that house of 
mourning. St John saw how our Blessed Lord called back the 
spirit of the child, and gave her life again, and restored her to 
her parents. This was one of the many times St John was 



ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST. i; 

chosen to be with the Lord Jesus when He did "marvellous 
things." 

At that last Supper which our Lord ate with His disciples, 
before the wicked traitor Judas betrayed or gave Him up to 
the cruel Jews, St John was close to Him, leaning on His breast; 
as if he loved Him so dearly, he could not leave His side. 
Afterwards, when our Saviour was in the palace of the High 
Priest, in the hands of those who sought His death, St John 
went in with Him. And again, when He was on the Cross, He 
spoke to St John and told him to take care of His mother, the 
blessed Virgin Mary, and to be a son to her. In dutiful obedience 
to his Lord, St John took her home with him to his own house 
and took care of her, and lived with her — so it is believed — for 
fifteen years, until she died, and he was free to spread the glorious 
tidings of the Gospel into all lands, as the other Apostles were 
doing. We hear a little about him in the Acts of the Apostles 
soon after our Lord's Ascension ; he was often with St Peter, and 
once wicked men put them into prison for a while. And once they 
went together into the Temple for prayer; and at the gate, which 
was called " Beautiful," they saw a lame man. His feet were all 
bent under him, and he had never been able to walk. He looked 
up at them, and asked for money. St Peter speaking for both an- 
swered, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give 



18 ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 

I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk ;" 
and he took his right hand and lifted him up; and immediately 
the poor bent ancle bones became strong and straight like yours, 
and he stood upright, and went with them into the Temple, 
praising God. This was a great miracle, which God had wrought 
by the hands of His servants, St Peter and St John. I told 
you St John was quite a young man when Christ was on the 
earth; he lived to be a very old man; and the whole of this 
long life he spent in doing his Master's work — that of teaching 
people to believe on Him. I cannot tell you the half of all he 
did, but two stories are told of him which you will like to hear. 

Once the heathen Emperor Domitian ordered fierce men to 
throw holy St John into a large vessel of hot boiling oil. But, 
instead of its hurting him, God shielded him from the heat, 
and he came out unharmed. You would think after this, that 
the Emperor would have believed on God, but his heart was very 
hard, and he sent St John to a desert island, called Patmos, 
where he lived for many years bearing a daily martyrdom for 
Christ's sake. There God comforted him, and shewed him mar- 
vellous and beautiful things — visions of Heaven, and visions of 
things that will come to pass some day. All these things St 
John wrote down in the book called "the Book of Revelation." 

The other story I promised to tell you is this : St John, 



-* 



ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 19 

when he was on a visit to one of the places where he had 
preached about Jesus Christ, chose a young man, whom he caused 
to be taught carefully, that by and by he might teach others. 
After a while St John came back to that city, and asked for the 
young man. A very sad tale was told him. The young man had 
left his kind teachers, and, worst of all, had left off doing what 
was right, and had gone away into the hills with some men who 
were robbers, and had become their captain. St John determined 
to go and see if he could find him ; so he went alone into the 
mountains. There he was taken by one of these robbers, and 
led before the captain. He, when he saw St John, felt how 
wicked he had been, and tried to turn away from the holy 
Apostle. St John went after him as far as his failing strength 
would let him, and then implored the young man to stay and 
listen to him; and he spoke words so full of love and earnest- 
ness, that the young man repented, and forsook his evil ways, 
and returned to following after God. 

St John died a very old man. He teaches us in his writings 
and in his holy life to love Christ first, and then all our fellow- 
creatures for Christ's sake. If we love Christ, my child, we 
must try to do what He bids us, just as I know my little Mary 
likes to do what will give me pleasure; and St John has said, 
"Little children, love one another." 



C6e lolp imumnt& 

These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. 

There is. not much to tell you about the Holy Innocents. They 
were "only little babies, knowing neither good nor harm," when 
they were called on to give up their lives for Christ's ; but, because 
it was for Jesus Christ that they died, the Church places them 
in her glorious Army of Martyrs. They could not do Christ's 
holy will on earth, but to them it was given very early to sing 
His praises in heaven; and we may believe that a golden crown 
and a golden harp was given to each little one, when they entered 
into the golden gate. They would never sin or sorrow more, 
"being without fault before the Throne of God;" and that our 
Lord especially loves little children we know, for he has said 
" Of such is the kingdom of heaven." 

You know the story of the Holy Innocents: how the wicked 
king of Judea, Herod, when he heard that wise men had come 



THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 21 

from the far east country — led by a beautiful star, which shone 
brightly in the dark sky, and which went on and on till it came 
and " stood over the place where the young Child was," and thus 
shewed the wise men that here was He whom they sought — Herod 
thought that the wondrous Babe, whom men called " King of the 
Jews," would in some way hurt him and make his power less. 

If Herod had gone to see the Infant Christ, and His mother, 
the blessed Virgin Mary; but, above all, if he had asked God to 
teach him, he would not have been afraid of this ; but he thought 
only of himself. And so he sent his cruel soldiers to kill every 
little baby in all those parts, hoping that amongst them they 
would find the Child of whom the wise men had told him. But 
God had spoken to Joseph, who took care of Mary and the Infant 
Saviour, and told him to take the young Child and His mother 
away by night into Egypt, and so He was safe from the wicked 
king. 

My Mary, God sometimes now calls little babies to come to 
Him; and I will tell you what is said of such little ones: "Out 
of the mouth of babes, Thou hast perfe£led praise." And those 
who are on earth can praise him too by being bright and happy, 
and by remembering that "from Him all good things come." 
Then they will join the heavenly host even while they are yet 
in this world, in "singing praises to God and to the Lamb." 



*- 



<&Qi\btv&iQn of &t $aul 

" Oh, what, if we are Christ's, 
Is earthly shame or loss, 
Bright shall the crown of glory be 
When we have borne the cross ; 
Keen was the trial once, 
Bitter the cup of woe, 
When martyred saints, baptized in blood, 
Christ's sufferings shared below!' 



THIS day is set apart in remembrance of one great event in the 
life of St Paul. All through his long life we may think of him 
with profit, learning steadfastness and holy love from his example ; 
but this one incident stands out alone in his history, shewing how 
he was called to be one of the " glorious company of the Apostles." 
He was not one of the twelve, but, as he says himself, he was 
called "last," as "out of due time." 



CONVERSION OF ST PAUL. 23 

When you are older, and can study his holy and glorious life, 
and the epistles, or letters, which he wrote, you will understand, 
better than any words of mine can tell you, how, as the Collect 
for to-day says, " Through the preaching of the blessed apostle 
St Paul, God has caused the light of the gospel to shine through- 
out the world." That you may understand why St Paul needed 
to be converted, I must tell you what was the state of mankind 
in that part of the world where the Lord Jesus Christ lived when 
He was on earth. 

At the time of our Saviour's Ascension the most powerful 
people were the Romans. The city where their emperor reigned 
was called Rome (we are called English, you know, because our 
country is England). The Romans had sent armies far and wide 
and had conquered many countries, so that their empire was the 
largest in the world. They were heathens, they did not know 
or love the true God, but prayed to idols, which they ignorantly 
believed could hear them and would answer their prayers. Then 
there was Judea, the country where our Lord lived, and where 
stood the beautiful city of Jerusalem with her crown of towers. 
This is always called the Holy Land, for that place must be 
for ever hallowed where our Lord once trod. The people of Judea 
were called Jews. You know that the Jews would not believe 
in Him, but crucified the Lord of Glory. This is very sad 



24 CONVERSION OF ST PAUL. 

to think of, for the Jews were God's own chosen people; and, 
long before, He had brought their fathers out of Egypt, where 
they were in cruel bondage, and led them through the wilderness 
into this goodly land of Judea. God punished them for their 
wickedness; for, very soon after the Lord Jesus went back to 
Heaven, the fierce Roman armies took the beautiful city of Jeru- 
salem and destroyed the Temple, where He had taught so often ;— 
that grand and stately Temple, built of pure white marble, which 
had been eighty years in building; — and, ever since, the Jews have 
been scattered about, and have never gone back to their own land. 
When we first hear of St Paul, the Romans had not conquered 
Jerusalem ; and some of the Apostles were teaching and preaching 
there about the blessed Saviour, and many of the Jews believed 
on Him. All that time St Paul was called Saul; and the first time 
we hear about him was when the holy martyr St Stephen was 
stoned, as standing by and watching his martyrdom ; it is written, 
w Saul was consenting unto his death." He was a Jew, and very 
bitter against all who believed on the Lord Jesus. He thought 
he was doing God service by hindering the spread of the new 
religion. So he went about finding people who believed on 
Christ, and putting them in prison. He was travelling for this 
purpose to a city called Damascus, when our Blessed Lord and 
Saviour, in His Infinite Love, revealed Himself to him. 



CONVERSION OF ST PAUL. 52 

As he journeyed, suddenly there shone around him a light from 
heaven, brighter it was than the sun at noonday. Its heavenly 
radiance dazzled him, and he fell to the earth. Then he heard 
a voice from heaven, saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou 
Me?" He answered, "Who art Thou, Lord?" and the voice said, 
" I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." Then Saul believed, and, 
trembling and astonished, asked, " Lord, what wilt Thou have me 
to do?" and the Lord told him to go on to Damascus, and there it 
should be told him what he was to do. When the bright light 
faded away and all was silent, Saul rose up from the ground and 
behold he was blind — he could not see. His servants took him 
to Damascus; and there he abode three days and three nights, 
praying that God would tell him His Holy Will. 

Now in that city there was a certain disciple, named Ananias, 
and to him the Lord spoke in a vision, and told him to go to a 
certain house and inquire for Saul. So Ananias went as the Lord 
bade him, and entered into the house, and laid his hands on Saul ; 
and Saul's sight was immediately restored, and he arose and was 
baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost. Afterwards, Saul went to the disciples who were 
at Jerusalem, and offered himself to do the work of the Lord. 
Thenceforward his life was devoted wholly and entirely to 
preaching and teaching "Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." 



26 CONVERSION OF ST PAUL. 

He did what he had to do with all his heart and soul and 
strength. His was no half service. When he thought he did 
God service by persecuting the Church of Christ, he was the terror 
of all believers by the zeal and energy with which he worked ; 
but, wrong as he had been, God forgave him, " inasmuch as he did 
it ignorantly," and made him one of the greatest of the Apostles ; 
so, when he knew the truth, he became " in labours more abundant 
than they all." 

I cannot follow St Paul, as he now was called, through the 
many other great events of his life, for I have already made my 
story for to-day longer than usual; but I must just tell you that 
he carried the Gospel far and wide. He preached before the 
Emperor at Rome, so there is reason to think; he travelled into 
the far west; and some people believe that he came even to 
our dear land, to England. 

He endured beatings and stonings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, 
every sort of peril and danger, but all gladly; "rejoicing that he 
was counted worthy to suffer for Christ." He wrote letters to many 
of the Churches that he had founded — that is, to the Christians in 
the places where he had preached; and these letters, called the 
Epistles of St Paul, are preserved to us, and are in the New 
Testament, written for our learning, as well as for those of old 
time. 



CONVERSION OF ST PAUL. 27 

At last St Paul came to Rome again for the last time, and the 
cruel Emperor Nero threw him into prison; and after a time, 
finding that he only grew stronger and stronger in bringing people 
to Christ, put him to death, it is believed, by beheading him. 
His death is said to have converted the man who beheaded him, 
and many more, to the faith ; so he being dead yet spoke. 

I cannot end his history better than by telling you his own 
words which he said when he thought his martyrdom was near: 
" I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have 
kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of 
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me 
at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love 
His appearing/' 



-* 



Cije flrtftntatfon of Cferfet fit tfre Cemple; 



COMMONLY CALLED, 



THE PURIFICATION OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN. 



"And through all His wondrous childhood 

He would honour, and obey, 
Love and watch the lowly maiden 

In whose gentle arms He lay. 
Christian children all must be 
Kind, obedient, good as He!' 



"Mamma, mayn't Eva go with us to Church to see Martha's 
baby christened? do let her, she does so want to go;" asked 
little Mary, one morning. 

"I should like to take her, Mary, only I am afraid she 
might get tired ; she is very little and cannot understand what 



THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST, &c. 29 

it is about ; the service too is a long one, because to-day is a 
Holy Day," answered her Mamma. 

"Oh Mamma, dear, I am sure she will be very good," re- 
plied Mary, eagerly ; " you know she sits quite still at prayers 
now ; and besides I have explained everything to her, and I 
am sure she understands quite well." 

Perhaps Mamma was hardly as convinced by this as Mary 
expected, but she yielded to her little girl's entreaties, and 
gave the desired permission, only stipulating that the little two 
years' old maiden should be placed where she might be easily 
taken out of Church, if she grew weary or restless ; and Mary 
flew to convey the information to the nursery. 

The event that so excited the children was the christening 
of the child of their former nurse; their Papa was to baptize 
the little one, and Mrs Murray had promised to be its God- 
mother. 

It was the Feast of the Purification ; there was a soft pro- 
mise of coming spring in the air ; and, though the morning had 
been cloudy, as the little party gathered round the Church 
porch, a bright gleam of sunshine shone out, and rested on the 
white dress of the infant, — a fitting emblem of the blessing she 
was about to receive. 

When the Baptismal Service began, little Eva's blue eyes 



30 THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST 

opened wide as she watched her Papa take the babe in his 
arms, and the little one, her vows made, receive the three-fold 
sprinkling and the sign of the Holy Cross, in token that she 
was made Christ's soldier and servant, and was to continue so 
unto her life's end. Eva was full of it when Mrs Murray joined 
the children, and walked home with them from Church. Indeed, 
the quiet little Eva to-day talked for both, for Mary was un- 
usually silent till, as they reached their own door, she said : 

" Mamma, I want to know something. Why did you say to 
Martha, that to-day was a nice day for little Frances to be 
christened?" "That, this evening's reading will explain to you, 
my darling," said her Mamma, "but now I must go to Papa." 

And with this answer Mary was obliged to be satisfied ; but 
she thought a great deal about it, and was very glad when her 
happy hour, as she always called it, came at last, and Mrs 
Murray began to teach. 

" To-day, two things are to be remembered ; the first, which 
is called the ' Presentation of Christ in the Temple,' 1 think 
I can explain to you ; the second, or the ' Purification of St 
Mary the Virgin,' you will understand better when you are 
older. At present I can only tell you that it was in obedience 
to a law, which God had given the Jews long before, that the 
Blessed Virgin Mary went up to the Temple. The Temple was 



* 

IN THE TEMPLE. 31 

God's own House, which stood in the midst of Jerusalem, and 
where people went to worship the Lord. It was more beautiful 
than you can imagine : some day I will read you the account 
of its surpassing richness and beauty. 

(i Mary carried in her arms our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, 
who was then a little baby not more than six weeks old, to 
present Him to God, and to offer the appointed sacrifice, 'a 
pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.' 

"Many other little babies were presented by their mothers, 
and we do not know that our Lord appeared different to them, 
but there was a very great difference; every other child ever 
born into this world is born in sin; Jesus Christ alone was 
quite pure and spotless, because, although it pleased Him for 
our salvation to become Man, and to take our nature upon 
Him, He was the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. 

"There were in the Temple two persons who saw in this 
little Babe the ' Desire of all nations, the Messiah.' One was 
an old man named Simeon, who took the Holy Babe in his 
arms and said, 'Lord, now lettest Thou Thy- servant depart in 
peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.' This Hymn we 
repeat every day in the Church, in the evening (or afternoon) 
service, saying the same words the holy Simeon first used more 
than 1800 years ago. 



: ^ 

32 THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST, &c. 

"Simeon was very old, and was ready to go to God when- 
ever He should call him ; and he thanked God that he had 
been permitted to behold the Christ, who is his and our sal- 
vation. The other person was Anna, an old woman who had 
worshipped continually in the Temple for many years. She too 
praised God that she had been allowed to see her Blessed 
Saviour in the Flesh. 

"And now, Mary, have I not answered your question ? Surely 
this was a fitting day for Martha to offer her baby to God, 
when we commemorate our Lord's Presentation ; and I hope, when 
you hear or think of this Holy Festival, that you will remember 
that day on which you too were presented to God, and all 
that your Godfathers and Godmothers then promised for you, 
because you were only a tiny baby, and could not promise it 
for yourself. This was, that you would renounce or give up all 
wicked works and ways, which are the ways of the devil, and 
that you will keep God's holy will and commandments. Christ's 
little soldier must try to be like Christ, 'For He is our child- 
hood's pattern,' and no one who tries in earnest is left without 
help ; but the grace, that was given you then, will grow stronger 
and stronger, till at your life's end you will be counted worthy 
to receive a crown of life, and to enter into the joy of your 
Lord." 



*t ilatt&t'asi. 

" That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith 
and patience inherit the promises!' 



You know, for I have often told you, that our Blessed Lord 
Jesus Christ, when He was on the earth, chose twelve from 
among His disciples and set them apart more especially for 
the work of the ministry, that is, to teach and preach to all 
nations. You have heard about some of these holy men — how 
they loved their Lord, and how they spent their whole lives 
in doing His holy Will; often suffering many things for His 
sake, and being cruelly put to death by the enemies of the 
Blessed Jesus. St Andrew was one of them, and St Thomas 
another. But you have also heard how one of the Apostles, 
the wicked Judas, was a traitor — a traitor is one who betrays 
his trust. Our Lord had trusted Judas, He had chosen him 
to be His companion, and had given him the same gifts that 



34 ST MATTHIAS. 



He gave to the other eleven ; as it is said, ''He gave them 
power against unclean spirits, to cast them out; and to heal 
all manner of diseases." One command that our Lord laid on 
His Apostles was, that they should be poor, that they should 
carry neither purse nor scrip ; and Judas betrayed his trust by 
taking money to give his Master up into the hands of His ene- 
mies. He shewed the cruel soldiers where our Blessed Saviour 
was, and told them that it was He. I will not dwell on this 
sad history; Judas lived a wicked life, and died a most wretched 
death. 

After our Lord had left His disciples and gone back to 
God, the eleven Apostles being all together, St Peter stood up 
and proposed to choose another in the place of the wretched 
Judas. They appointed two good men, and prayed to God to 
shew them which of the two He would have to be His Apo- 
stle. Then they cast lots, and the lot fell on St Matthias. 

We do not know much about St Matthias, except that we 
are told that he had been constantly with our Lord's disciples 
from the very first ; and he is called " faithful," which is the 
very opposite of "traitor," for it means one who is true to his 
trust. Judas was false to his trust ; but St Matthias remained 
a faithful and true servant to his life's end. 

Little is certain of his history after he was thus chosen; but, 



ST MATTHIAS. 35 



though he was not much known to men, this would not make 
his services less acceptable to God, Who sees the hearts of His 
servants, and judges them not so much by what they do, as 
by how they do it. It is believed that St Matthias preached 
first in Judea, (our Lord's own country,) and then he went into 
a country called Cappadocia. He converted many of the dwell- 
ers there, who were heathen, to be Christians ; and at last God 
called him home to be evermore in His Glorious Presence in 
Heaven. It is believed that he was stoned to death by the 
Jews ; but according to some accounts he was crucified. 

Now we are all servants of Christ as St Matthias was, and 
we too have all promised to be "faithful servants to our lives' 
end." Let us learn then, by his example, to be in earnest ; 
not idle in doing the works of our Lord, but, as St Matthias 
was, to be faithful to the end ; and then, like him, we shall, 
when we come to die, hear our Lord's words, "Well done, 
good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 



€I;e amtimriatum ot fyt asie^eir Wivuin i*larg. 

" Blessed are the pure in heart, 
For they shall see oar God : 
The secret of the Lord is theirs, 
The soul is Christ's abode." 



THERE is a great deal in this Holy-day which you cannot 
understand at present; but there are one or two things which 
I will try to make plain for you, and which will help you to 
remember this Feast. To "annunciate" — that is, to announce — 
means to bring tidings. Now suppose somebody were to tell 
you that a friend you love very much had come here to see 
you — that would be bringing you tidings of, or announcing, 
the coming of that person ; or, suppose again, that you were 
told that by-and-by some one you wished to see would come, 
that would be announcing it. So this day is called " The 
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary," that is, the day 



ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 37 

of announcing. Now I will tell you what was announced to 
her, and by whom. The time was come, when God meant 
to send His Blessed Son Jesus Christ down to earth, to save 
us from our sins. 

A long while before, His holy prophets had prophesied of 
His Coming — that is, God had told them that, in "the fulness 
of time," He would send a Saviour, and they had taught the 
people to expect Him ; and now the time, so long expected, 
was come, and the Angel Gabriel, one of the brightest and 
most beautiful of God's angels, was sent as a messenger to 
announce to a pure young maiden who lived at Nazareth in 
Galilee, that a little Babe would be given her, who would be 
the Saviour of the world. This was a wonderful message, and 
we are told that, when she heard it, she was troubled, and 
wondered what it could mean. But she also knew that all things 
are possible with God, and she waited in quietness and faith 
till His Holy Will should be made plain to her. For all this, 
she has ever since been called by the Church the Blessed 
Virgin Mary. 

There were three things in this wonderful message that I 
want you to know and remember. First, the angel said that 
the child should be called "Jesus," which means a Saviour. 
Secondly, that He should be the Son of the Highest, that is, 



38 ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 

the Son of God. /Thirdly, that of His Kingdom there should 
be no end, that' is, that He will reign for ever and ever in 
Heaven; and His Kingdom will consist of all those who have 
believed in Him to the saving of their souls. 

It was necessary for our salvation that our Lord Jesus 
Christ should take our flesh upon Him and become Man ; and 
we must remember that He is now as Man in Heaven, and 
that He will at the last day come again and call us to give 
account for our own works — when they that have done good 
shall enter with Him into Life Everlasting, but they that have 
done evil into everlasting fire. 



* 



»t JWarfc. 

" Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the 
ends of the world!' 



This day is set apart in honour of St Mark ; the Collect for 
the day speaks of him as one of those whom God sent to 
"instruct (or teach) His Church in heavenly doctrine." All who 
have been baptized, and who believe on His Son Jesus Christ, 
are members of His Church ; so that St Mark teaches us also, 
as well as the people who were living at the time he actually 
wrote. 

By St Mark's doctrine we are to understand the lessons 
which his writings teach us ; and these are called heavenly, 
because they tell us of God and Heaven. Should we not 
thank God for giving us holy teachers, to whom He has told 
things beyond anything we can find out for ourselves, even 
things belonging to Himself? 



-* 



4 o ST MARK. 



St Mark was not one of the disciples of our Blessed Lord ; 
it is thought that St Peter taught him to believe on Jesus ; 
and very much St Peter must have loved him, for in one of 
his Epistles, or letters, he calls him, " Marcus my son." 

St Mark lived a long while with St Peter, sharing his 
ministry, (or work of ministering to people;) and while they 
were at Rome, St Peter instructed him fully in the things that 
had happened to our Lord Jesus Christ when on earth, of 
which he had been a loving eye-witness. Under St Peter's 
guidance, perhaps from his dictation, (that is, St Peter would 
tell St Mark the very words to use,) he wrote the Gospel 
which is called "the Gospel according to St Mark." 

St Mark was also with St Paul, and with another holy man 
of God, of whom you have not yet heard, St Barnabas ; and 
there are several notices of him in the A6ls of the Apostles, 
from which we learn that he was with the Apostles at dif- 
ferent times and different places, helping them in their work. 
He does not seem at first to have had any special work given 
him, but to have shared the labours of those holy men with 
whom he lived. St Paul says in one of his Epistles to Timothy, 
who was a Bishop of the Church, "Take Mark, and bring him 
with thee : for he is profitable to me for the ministry." That 
means, that he did good service in spreading the Gospel of Christ. 



* 



f 



ST MARK. 41 



After some time, it is believed that St Mark was sent by 
St Peter to preach the Gospel in Egypt. He went first to one 
of the chief cities there, Alexandria, and great multitudes of 
men and women were converted to the truth by his heavenly 
doctrine, and lived holy lives. 

From Alexandria he went westward, into the parts of Libya, 
where God continued to bless his labours among a barbarous 
people. He did not leave them until he had not only con- 
verted them, but established them in the truth. He then re- 
turned to Alexandria. 

About Easter there was a great feast held there in honour 
of one of the false gods the Egyptians worshipped ; and the 
people grew excited and furious, and rushed into where St Mark 
was leading the Service to the true God, and they bound his 
feet cruelly with cords, and dragged him out through the long 
streets, and over rough craggy rocks by the sea-side. Then 
they threw him all wounded and bruised into prison, and left 
him. But God, in the dark night, sent an angel to His holy 
servant to comfort and strengthen him by a beautiful vision ; 
thus, as he had helped and supported others by telling them 
of the heavenly things he could only know darkly and imper- 
fectly, God now supported him by bringing these heavenly 
sights and sounds clearly and closely to him. The next day 



42 ST MARK. 



the wicked people dragged him about again, until his flesh was 
so cruelly torn, that the life-blood gushed out ; so God called 
his spirit home, and he entered by a hard and painful death 
into the glorious reward ready for him, because he had won 
the martyr's crown. 

Let us, my child, being established in our faith by the hea- 
venly do6lrine of St Mark, stand fast in it, and be ready to 
do God's Holy Will while on earth, and to follow St Mark's 
footsteps, even through death, unto Life Eternal. 



£>t pfH'Itp anir §bt Sanies 

" We pray for simple faith, 
For hope that never faints ; 
For true communion evermore 
With all thy blessed Saints!' 

These two Saints were not brothers, nor even much connected 
with each other, though you might suppose either, from their 
being thus remembered together. It is believed that they are 
so commemorated, in memory of our Blessed Saviour having 
sent His disciples forth by two and two to preach and to 
teach. 

We will begin with St Philip. He was born at "Bethsaida, 
the city of Andrew and Peter;" St John tells us this. It is 
not known who his parents were, nor is it certain how he 
gained his livelihood, though it is supposed he was a fisher- 
man. He was the one who was first called by the Lord Jesus ; 



*- 



44 ST PHILIP AND ST JAMES. 

St John and St Andrew had followed Him without being called. 
We read concerning St Philip, "The day following, Jesus fmdeth 
Philip, and saith unto him, Follow Me." This call he obeyed 
directly, without question ; and his very first act was, to bring 
a companion named Nathanael to Christ also. He was anxious 
to make others share his own happiness, and this spirit con- 
tinued in St Philip ; for we read a little further on, in St John's 
Gospel, that he, together with St Andrew, brought some Greeks, 
who had come up to Jerusalem for a while, to Christ. 

St Philip was chosen to be an Apostle with the others, and 
was therefore one of the Twelve, and henceforth constantly with 
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is mentioned once or twice in our 
Lord's ministry, and he always shows a spirit ready to believe; 
and as he was the first called, so he remained faithful unto the 
end. After our Lord's Ascension, St Philip is said to have 
travelled into a very wild district in Asia, far away from the 
fair city where he dwelt when first the call came — away from 
his home and his friends ; but doubtless his Lord's work was 
dearer to him than all the world besides. 

When he had become old, so we have reason to believe, 
he took up his abode in the city, where the people were all 
heathen. One of the things they worshipped was a large ser- 
pent. St Philip was grieved to see them so foolish and igno- 



ST PHILIP AND ST JAMES. 45 

rant, and prayed them to destroy the serpent. After a while, 
it is said, the serpent vanished, and then a great many people 
believed what St Philip taught them ; but those who would not 
listen were only more angry with him, and so they beat him 
cruelly and put him in prison, and soon after they put him to 
death. Thus St Philip too was a martyr, and sealed his faith 
in Jesus Christ with his blood. 

Now we will turn to St James. There were two of this 
name among the Apostles. This one is called St James the 
Less. We are also told that he was the son of one Alphaeus. 
We hear but little of him in the accounts of the followers of 
our Lord, only that he was called to be an Apostle. He 
seems to have been of a humble and meek nature, never seek- 
ing to be first, but contented with the lowest place, and there- 
fore we find that he was highly honoured, for Christ says, 
"Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart," and "he 
that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 

One of the marks of special favour that we hear of his re- 
ceiving was, that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him, by 
himself, after His Resurrection. St James was made Bishop of 
the Church at Jerusalem. Do you remember, on Sunday I ex- 
plained to you that Bishops are set to watch over God's Holy 
Church, and as the Apostles were set apart by Christ Himself, 



. * 

4 6 ST PHILIP AND ST JAMES. 

so they set apart others ; and all were consecrated, or made 
sacred, to do Christ's work in His Church on earth. In like 
manner, the Bishops set apart or ordained ministers, who were 
called Priests and Deacons, whose duty it was to preach and 
teach the people as the Bishop or chief pastor commanded. 
No one could be a priest unless set apart or ordained by the 
Bishop; and this, begun by Christ, goes on still. Bishops or- 
dain priests, and they minister to the Church. 

St James, then, was Bishop of Jerusalem, and accordingly 
we hear frequently of him in the Book which tells us of the 
Acts of the Apostles ; guiding, counselling, and sometimes or- 
dering the Christians who, living at Jerusalem, formed the 
Church there. But his very goodness caused the wicked people 
to hate him. They, who had hated and rejected the All-holy 
Jesus, would not spare His holy servant St James. We learn 
from history that at first they tried to make him deny his 
Saviour; but, when they found he would not, they threw heavy 
stones at him, and bruised him and wounded him, till he died. 
He was a very old man, ninety-six years old, when he laid 
down his life for the Lord and Master he had followed so 
long. 

This is a long " story," my little one, and a difficult one; 
but you will try and think when you hear of these two Saints, 



ST PHILIP AND ST JAMES. 47 

how St Philip is an example of ready belief, and St James of 
humility, and try yourself to obtain, by God's help, the orna- 
ment of a meek and quiet spirit. 



" The son of consolation, a Levite? 



St Barnabas is called an Apostle, but he was not one of the 
twelve who were chosen by our Lord. I have told you that 
the word Apostle means sent, and it is supposed that St Bar- 
nabas was so called, because he was sent in an especial manner 
to the Gentiles. You remember how I told you, that the Apo- 
stles waited in Jerusalem, after our Saviour's Ascension, "until 
they were endued with power from on high;" that was, until the 
Holy Ghost was given unto them. Now the Colle6l for to-day 
tells us that St Barnabas was endued "with singular gifts of 
the Holy Ghost." I told you what special gifts the Holy Ghost 
brought to the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost, and now I 
will tell you what St Paul says are some of the "fruits of the 
Spirit," which we may all bring forth by His help. We will 
then see how St Barnabas proved himself to possess these fruits 



ST BARNABAS. 49 



of the Spirit. "Endued" means clothed with, as our bodies are 
covered with clothes which wrap us round always, so our 
souls should be always clothed with these graces, and we 
never should be without them. They are "love, joy, peace, 
long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temper- 
ance." 

St Luke tells us in the A6ls of the Apostles that St Barnabas 
was "a good man full of faith." It is also written, that he 
sold all his lands and "brought the money" to the Apostles, 
proving that love shone brightly in him. When some mistrusted 
the new convert Saul and were harsh to him, St Barnabas took 
him kindly by the hand and spoke for him before them all, 
shewing, I think, the spirit of gentleness. Again, we are told of 
his being long-suffering ; and that the special gifts and power of 
the Holy Ghost were given to him we read in every passage 
of his history, beginning with the Church at Antioch, where he 
preached first, and where " much people was added to the 
Lord." 

St Barnabas travelled a good deal with St Paul ; and at one 
place they healed a lame man. The people of the town were 
heathen, and believed in many false gods, and they said, when 
they saw this wonderful work, that St Barnabas and St Paul 
were two of the gods whom they worshipped, and they wished 



50 ST BARNABAS. 



to offer up their white bulls, decked with garlands, as sacrifices 
to them. But the holy Apostles prevented them, and told 
them that they were only men like themselves ; and they 
taught them about the One true God, and Jesus Christ, His 
only Son, our Saviour. 

There is not much known about St Barnabas after the ac- 
counts of his journey ings, which are written in the Acts of the 
Apostles ; but it is believed that, after preaching wherever the 
Holy Spirit led him, he at length suffered martyrdom at the 
hands of some of the enemies of Christ. 

Barnabas was a name given him by the Apostles, and means 
the son of consolation. It is probable that this beautiful name 
was given him, because he was remarkable for being able to 
give consolation or comfort to people in trouble. There is a 
great deal we may learn from thinking about St Barnabas, but 
I want my Mary especially to remember those graces of the 
Holy Spirit which his holy life shewed forth. The Holy Ghost 
was given to you once, when in your Baptism you were made 
a " child of God ; " for, as your hymn says, 

" It is the Holy Spirit of God 
That speaks your soul within; 
That leads you on to all things good, 
And holds you back from sin." 



ST BARNABAS. 51 



Without His help your little heart is naughty; but with 
His help you may continue one of God's dear children, and 
be like St Barnabas, full of the blessed fruits of the Spirit, 
and, above all, like our Great Example, the All-holy Jesus. 



M Safin 3$apttet 

" Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also 
before My Father which is in Heaven? 



St John Baptist was sent to prepare the way for the king- 
dom of our Saviour Jesus Christ, by saying to the people, 
"Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." To re- 
pent means to be very sorry for our sins, and to long to be 
set free from them. So when St John had taught the people 
to repent, they began to long for a Saviour; then he told them 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was coming to be their Saviour 
and their King. Their Saviour, by bearing the punishment of 
their sins for them ; and their King, by releasing them from the 
power of the wicked one, who is called the prince of this 
world. If a great king were coming into a country where the 
people were very unhappy, or were all slaves, he might send 
a servant before him to tell the people that he was coming to 



ST JOHN BAPTIST. 53 

set them free, to make them happy, and that they must be 
looking out for him, and ready to receive him — then that ser- 
vant would be a messenger sent to prepare his way. Just so 
St John Baptist was a messenger, sent to prepare the way of 
Christ, only his message was a greater one than had ever been 
sent to earth before. 

The father and mother of St John Baptist were very old 
people, and they had no children. Zacharias was a priest. He 
ministered daily in the Temple. His wife was called Elizabeth. 
They both were good and holy, and kept all God's Command- 
ments. One day it came to pass that Zacharias was in the 
Temple, and there appeared unto him the angel Gabriel. Za- 
charias was afraid when he saw him, but the angel said, "Fear 
not;" and then he told him that God had heard his prayer, 
and would send him a little son, who should make both him 
and his wife Elizabeth very happy. This seemed so wonderful 
that Zacharias could not believe it ; so the angel said that God 
would shew him that He was able to do what He promised, 
by taking away his speech, and he told Zacharias that he should 
not be able to speak till his son was born. The angel also 
said that he must call the child "John." When the angel left 
him, and went back to Heaven, Zacharias found that he was 
dumb ; then he believed and went home to Elizabeth, and they 



54 ST JOHN BAPTIST. 

waited in quietness till God should give them this son. By 
and by God sent them a little baby, and all the "friends and 
cousins" of Zacharias came and wished to name him after his 
father, but Elizabeth said, (< He shall be called John." Then 
they asked his father if this was so, and he being still dumb 
signed for a table, and wrote, "His name is John;" and im- 
mediately "his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and 
he spake and praised God." Long before, holy prophets had 
foretold this baby's birth, and so it is called in the Collect 
wonderful, because God did very wonderfully. 

When St John grew to be a man, he went out into the 
wilderness, — a place very far from the city, — where no man lived ; 
and there he spent his time preaching to the people, who came 
to him in great numbers, and telling them about the expected 
Saviour, and baptizing all who truly repented them of their 
sins. So he did till Jesus came, and then he told the people, 
who would have looked upon him as the Messiah, that One, 
mightier than he, had come, who was indeed the Christ. When 
he first saw Jesus he said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which 
taketh away the sin of the world!" thus bearing witness to 
Him whose coming he had foretold. 

Jesus Himself, that He might "fulfil all righteousness," (that 
is, that as man He might do all that He bade His disciples 



-* 



ST JOHN BAPTIST. 55 

do,) came to St John to be baptized of him. But St John 
would not at first, knowing Him to be the Son of God. 
Jesus told him it must be so, though St John could not un- 
derstand it then ; and to shew him that his obedience was 
blessed, " the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the 
Spirit of God descending like a dove" and resting on Jesus, 
and a Voice from Heaven said, "This is My Beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased." Now you see the reason why 
St John was called Baptist. 

Not long after this, the wicked King Herod, who had been 
reproved by the Baptist for a very wicked thing he had done, 
shut him up in prison, and at last had him beheaded. You 
see, he thus suffered even death for the sake of the truth. All 
through his holy life this is remarkable, his boldness in speaking 
the truth even when he knew he would suffer for it. We are 
not, thank God, now likely to suffer as St John Baptist did, 
but yet we may imitate his holy example ; even you may do 
so, my child, for it is not always pleasant to speak the truth, 
or easy. If you have. to confess a fault, for instance, remember 
St John Baptist, and pray that, like him, "you may have 
courage to speak the truth," and even to suffer patiently for 
the truth's sake. 



" O God, Thy soldiers' great Reward, 
Their Portion, Crown, and faithful Lord ! 
From all transgressions set us free, 
Who sing Thy martyrs viflory" 

YOU remember what I told you about St Andrew, how that he 
was with St John the Baptist when the Lord Jesus Christ 
passed by, and how it is said, that when he heard St John's 
wonderful declaration, "Behold the Lamb of God," he turned 
and followed Jesus. St Peter was his brother, and we read 
that St Andrew first found his own brother Simon and brought 
him to Jesus. They were the sons of one Jona, a fisherman ; 
and though they left their homes and followed Christ, we often 
find them pursuing their trade on the Lake of Gennesaret. On 
one of these occasions our Lord entered into Simon Peter's ship, 
and prayed him to push off a little from the shore, as the people 



ST PETER. 57 



were pressing upon Him to hear Him speak. And He sat down 
and taught the people out of the ship. After a while, He 
desired St Peter to let down his nets to catch some fish. Now 
St Peter had been toiling all night and had taken nothing ; 
nevertheless at his Masters word he let them down again, and 
he immediately caught so many fishes that the net broke. Then 
St Peter fell down at the Lord Jesus's knees and begged Him 
to go, for -he was afraid. But his Lord said to him, "Fear not," 
and added, that, as in obedience to His command he had let 
down his nets when it seemed of no use, and had caught a 
great multitude of fishes, so now he was to go forth and preach 
to all men, and God would so bless his labours, that he should 
bring a great multitude of souls to the knowledge and love of 
Christ. 

From this time St Peter was constantly with our Lord, and 
was one of the chosen Apostles. From his being a good deal 
older than the other Apostles he is named first, and he received 
many marks of Divine favour during his ministry. When the 
Lord Jesus Christ went apart taking only three of His disciples 
with Him, St Peter was one. St Peter too was one of the 
favoured few who saw all the miracles that Christ did ; and from 
every passage in his history we learn how the Lord loved him, 
and how his whole heart and soul were given up to his 



8 



5$ ST PETER. 



Saviour. His chara6ler was a very earnest one ; whatever he 
did was done with all his heart, and he was always foremost in 
professing his love to Christ, and his readiness, if need were, to 
die for Him. And yet St Peter sinned, and sinned grievously, 
sinned after Jesus had warned him ; perhaps to shew us that, if 
we stand in our own strength, we shall surely fall. St Peter 
trusted to his great love for his Master, and thought he could 
never be afraid, and forgot that by ourselves we are help- 
less, and that it is just when we think we are safe, that 
Satan takes advantage of our weakness, and tempts us in a 
way we do not expect. It was when our Blessed Saviour had 
been taken by wicked men, and had been led before the High 
Priest by those who hated Him. St Peter followed at a 
distance, and went into the High Priest's palace; and as he 
sat and warmed himself by the fire in the hall, for it was 
cold, one of the servants asked him whether he was not with 
the Lord Jesus, and he said, "No;" sad it is to think of this; 
and sadder still, his denial was threefold ; for again, and yet 
again, he was asked whether he was not a follower of the 
Blessed Jesus, and again he said, "I am not." Then Jesus 
turned and looked on St Peter, and immediately the cock crew, 
and he remembered how his Lord had warned him, "that before 
the cock crew twice, he would have denied Him thrice" and 



ST PETER. 59 



St Peter went out and wept bitterly. His sin had been very great, 
but he repented truly with a deep and bitter sorrow, and God for- 
gave him ; for " a broken and contrite heart He will not despise." 

St Peter was singled out by our Lord after His Resurrec- 
tion, and received a special charge, in proof of His love and 
forgiveness. As his denial had been threefold, so our Lord gave 
him three separate charges to "Feed His sheep;" which meant, 
to give the Bread of Life to His people, to teach them to 
believe in Him the Blessed Saviour. And well the holy Apostle 
fulfilled the trust. After our Lord's Ascension, we find him 
foremost in every work for the Church. It was he who spoke 
that wonderful sermon on the Day of Pentecost, which added 
at once to the number of the believers three thousand souls. 

We read of his going every day with St John to the 
Temple, where he healed the lame man who sat begging at the 
gate ; and it was he who by the mighty power of God, when 
Ananias and Sapphira lied against the Holy Ghost, struck 
them both down dead. 

I cannot go through all the notices of this great Apostle 
which are written for our learning, but one more event in his 
long life I will tell you. It came to pass that the wicked King 
Herod, after he had killed the Apostle James, (not the St 
James you have heard of, but another one who was St John's 



*- 



6o ST PETER. 



brother,) shut up St Peter in prison, and gave him in charge 
to cruel soldiers that he should not escape, intending after 
Easter to bring him out and to put him to death. But "prayer 
was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him," 
and these prayers were heard; for one night — whilst St Peter lay 
asleep in his prison, with his hands fastened with great chains 
to two soldiers, and more soldiers lay round the door of the 
prison guarding it — behold, a light shone in the darkness ! a 
light not of the sun or moon, but full of soft bright radiance, 
for it was Heaven's own light, and in it an angel stood, who 
awakened St Peter and bade him follow ; and he arose, and the 
chains fell off his hands, and the prison doors flew open, and 
he and the angel passed out; and the soldiers heard nothing, 
for God caused a deep sleep to fall on them. So God saved 
His servant; and St Peter went to the house where they were 
praying, and they all together gave thanks to Almighty God 
for His great mercy. 

There is not much known of the Apostle's life after this, 
except that it was spent in doing his Master's work. At last 
he came to Rome — as we learn from history — and there the 
Emperor Nero was offended at his boldness in speaking the truth, 
and cast him into prison. Before his death he was scourged, 
like his Divine Master, and was then led out for crucifixion. He 



entreated that he might be crucified with his head downwards, 
feeling himself unworthy to suffer exactly as his Lord had 
suffered. His request was granted, and so St Peter travelled to 
his home in glory, leaving us both a bright example by his 
holy life, and a warning by his fall ; that, although in the 
strength that God will give us, if we ask it, we may do great 
things, yet, if we neglect to seek His help, we shall surely 
fall. Let us learn too, when we have sinned, to repent as 
St Peter did, and then we too shall be forgiven, for the sake 
of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who died to save us from all sin. 



Sbt James tin (great 

. . . " With every son and saint of Thine 

Along the glorious line, 
Sitting by turns beneath Thy sacred feet, 

We'll hold communion sweet, 
Know them by look and voice, and thank them all 

For helping us in thrall, 
For words of hope, and bright examples given, 
To shew through moonless skies that there is light in Heaven!' 

This bright July day, dear Mary, the Church connects with 
the other St James, whom I told you a little about in St Peter's 
history, as being the brother of St John the Evangelist, — that 
St John "whom Jesus loved." He was the son of Zebedee; his 
mother's name was Salome, and she is mentioned more than 
once in the Bible. 

Like St John, St James was a fisherman ; and he was with 
him and their father Zebedee in the ship, mending their nets, 



ST JAMES THE GREAT. 63 

when Jesus passed by, and called them to follow Him. " And 
they left their father Zebedee in the ship, and went after 
Him." 

Now if anyone else had called them thus to leave their 
father and their work, it would not have been right to have 
gone; but it was the Lord Jesus who called, and therefore their 
duty was to obey His command. If we really love Christ, we 
shall be ready to give up all when He calls, as St John and 
St James did. The Collect for to-day says, " St James, leaving 
his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto 
the calling of Jesus Christ." In this he is an example to us; 
nor was it only once, when first called, that St James was 
obedient — he continued to follow his Lord. 

We soon find that he was chosen to be one of the twelve 
Apostles ; and we know that he ever after kept near his 
Master. 

The Lord Jesus Christ gave him and his brother St John 
the name of " Boanerges," the sons of thunder ; it is supposed, 
because naturally they had very quick and fiery tempers. 
Once, when they were going up to Jerusalem with the Saviour, 
in a place which they passed through, the people would not 
receive Him. St James and St John were so angry, that they 
asked leave to call down fire from heaven, to burn up all the 



64 ST JAMES THE GREAT. 

people. But Jesus gently rebuked them, and told them that 
He had come to save men's lives, not to destroy them. St 
James never again, that we are told, indulged in such a fierce 
temper. He must have struggled hard against it to subdue it 
daily ; every day — not only now and then ; for it is not easy 
to overcome our faults. 

St James was the first of the Apostles to suffer. It is said, 
that after our Lord's Ascension he went about the countries 
near at hand, preaching ; and he was in Jerusalem, when the 
King Herod, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, having 
determined "to vex certain of the Church," laid hands on him, 
and soon afterwards had him put to death with the sword. 
This is all that we learn in the Bible about his death; but it is 
elsewhere told that St James behaved, as we might expect, 
meekly and gently towards his enemies ; and that a soldier, 
who had been treating him very unkindly, was so struck by his 
patience, that he fell down at the Apostle's feet, and asked 
forgiveness for all that he had said and done against him. St 
James doubtless remembered our Lord's command to forgive 
our enemies, and he raised up the soldier, and said, "Peace be 
to thee, my son, and the pardon of thy sins." The soldier at 
once confessed himself a Christian, and was beheaded along 
with the holy Apostle, whose example had led him to Christ. 



ST JAMES THE GREAT. 65 

We see, my child, by St James's life, that we shall have 
grace given us to overcome our faults, if we truly strive against 
them. We remember too the lesson of obedience, which all 
through his life St James gives us. 



£>t 36art!)Olmncto* 

u Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth no sin, and 
in whose spirit there is no guile! 1 

St Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles. The first 
syllable of his name, Bar, means son ; and so the meaning of 
his name is, the son of Tholmai. 

Most people believe him to be the same person as the 
Nathanael mentioned by St John. If so, he was a great friend 
of St Philip's ; and we read that, as soon as St Philip had 
begun to follow Jesus, he went and found Nathanael, and told 
him that they had found " Him, of whom Moses in the law, 
and the prophets, did write," that is, the Christ. Nathanael 
was under a fig-tree, where probably he was accustomed to go 
to pray, and to study the Holy Scriptures. St Philip told him 
of Jesus of Nazareth ; and, when Nathanael would have asked 
more about it, he said, " Come and see." Being thus invited, 
Nathanael went with St Philip at once ; and when the Lord saw 
him, He said, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no 



ST BARTHOLOMEW. 67 

guile." Nathanael was astonished that Jesus should know 
him, and he asked, "Whence knowest Thou me?" He knew 
that Jesus had never before seen him, and he felt that He 
could read his heart at once — he acknowledged He was not 
like other men. The Lord Jesus, being God, could see into 
Nathanael's heart, and He answered his question. " Before 
that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I 
saw thee." 

Thus, you see, our Lord proved to Nathanael that He was 
the Christ, the Son of God, because only God sees us always, 
wherever we are, and whatever we are doing. Nathanael 
doubted no longer ; at once he owned Him God, who so had 
seen and known what he was doing under his own fig-tree's 
shade, and he said, "Thou art the Son of God;" and this con- 
fession brought him the promise of a blessing. 

We do not hear very much, after this, about St Bartholomew, 
except that he was chosen to be an Apostle. He is especially 
mentioned under the name of Nathanael, as one of the few 
to whom the Lord Jesus shewed Himself, after His Resur- 
rection, by the Lake of Gennesaret ; he was present on the 
Mount of Olives, when our Lord ascended up into Heaven ; 
and he of course remained with the other Apostles, until the 
outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost. 



68 ST BARTHOLOMEW. 

He is not mentioned in Scripture afterwards, but it is 
believed that he travelled into India, where he left a copy 
of the Gospel according to St Matthew ; and when, in after 
years, a Christian missionary went to preach in the same part 
of India, he is said to have found some people who had kept 
the knowledge of Christ, and with whom this Gospel of St 
Matthew was still preserved. 

After his labours in India, St Bartholomew went, we are 
told, into the more wretched parts of Asia, and joined his 
friend St Philip. When the persecution began, in which St 
Philip was put to death, St Bartholomew was with him, and 
he stayed with him to the last ; and when St Philip was dead, 
he buried him. Though he escaped when St Philip was taken, 
his turn soon came. He was preaching in a certain city, where 
the governor ordered him to be seized, and crucified. St Bar- 
tholomew cheerfully submitted ; and, to the last, he was com- 
forting the few converts who were round him,-— that is, those 
whom he had taught to believe on the Saviour. 

Our lesson to-day, my child, is a simple one, but one if we 
take heed to follow, we shall do well. The Lord Jesus said 
of Nathanael, or St Bartholomew, that he was "without guile." 
Guile means all sorts of deceit and untruthfulness, the very 
reverse of what the Son of God loved in this saint. If we 



ST BARTHOLOMEW. 69 

would have the blessing St Bartholomew received, we must put 
away such things, that, through our Lord Jesus Christ, we may 
be presented without blame before the throne of God. 



£>t Jlatt&eto* 

"i?y wisdom taught, he learned to know 
The vanity of all below ; 
The fleeting joys of earth disdained, 
A nd everlasting glory gained!' 

In order to understand the history of this Saint, you must 
know a little about the state of the people, among whom our 
Blessed Lord dwelt while He was on earth. I have often told 
you about Jerusalem, — the city where the Lord Jesus and His 
disciples chiefly lived. Jerusalem was the largest city in the 
country called Judea. Now Judea had been conquered by the 
Romans ; this means that the Emperor of Rome had sent 
armies, soldiers that is, who .were more in number than the 
Jews, and who had conquered them. The Jews were still al- 
lowed to live in their own country, but they had to pay cer- 
tain money to the Romans, called tribute money. The Jews 



hated the Romans, for they were cruel masters, and they were 
heathen too, and knew not the one true God. 

Certain of the Jews were appointed by the Romans to col- 
lect this tribute money. These men were called publicans. 
The rest of the Jews hated the publicans, partly because their 
having to pay this money reminded them of having lost their 
freedom, but also because the publicans were often unjust and 
cruel in collecting it. The publicans were called "sinners," by 
way of reproach. When our Lord came, He said He had come 
"to save that which was lost;" and that if a poor publican 
really repented, and was sorry for his sins, and tried to leave 
them off, He was ready to receive him, to forgive him his sin, 
and to cleanse him from all unrighteousness. 

St Matthew was a publican. The Lord Jesus had said that 
He was no respecter of persons ; and, by His call to St Mat- 
thew, He proved that it was not the great and good only, who 
were called to be His disciples. St Matthew was sitting at the 
receipt of custom ; that is, a place where he received the 
" custom," or payment, exacted from the passengers who crossed 
the Sea of Galilee. You have often seen toll paid, when you 
have been driven through a toll-bar ; this payment of custom 
was a similar thing. 

In the midst of this busy scene Jesus passed by ; He said 



72 ST MATTHEW. 



to St Matthew, " Follow Me;" and he arose, and left all, and 
followed Him. Now there was this difference between St Mat- 
thew following Jesus, and the other disciples' obedience to His 
call ; they were mostly poor, and had little to lose, if they 
"for His sake suffered poverty;" but St Matthew left wealth, 
for the publicans were rich, and he knew that the Lord Jesus 
Christ was poor. Often He had not where to lay His head. 
Yet St Matthew rose up, left all, and followed Him. 

One of the first things we hear about him is, that he in- 
vited the Lord and His disciples to his house, and "many pub- 
licans and sinners sat down with them;" shewing us how anxious 
he was that others, of his own occupation, should have the same 
opportunity of following the Master he had chosen, and there- 
fore he brought them together to hear His words. 

St Matthew was called to be an Apostle, and he was also 
one of the Evangelists, that is, he wrote one of the four Gos- 
pels. He taught in many parts, and for many years, the truth 
as it is in Jesus ; both the manner and the place of his death 
are quite uncertain. 

The great lesson we learn from St Matthew's life is, to 
" forsake all covetous desires and inordinate love of riches." To 
covet is to wish to have something which you see others pos- 
sess. Now though you, my child, may think you are not likely 



ST MATTHEW. 73 



to love riches or money, — and you should thank God that He 
has not put this temptation in your way, — you may yet follow 
the example of this Saint in being ready to give up, because 
it is right, things you like to have, and, above all, not to long 
for whatever pleases your fancy, or that you see pleases an- 
other; so you will follow in the steps of your Master and 
Saviour, the Blessed Lord Jesus. 



10 



^t MMwl anU ail Slngete* 

" Ye heavenly guides, speed not away, 
God willeth you with us to stay!' 

The word saint means holy. When we say St Peter, or St 
John, we mean that these men were so holy that they deserved 
the title of Saint. Now the angels too are very holy, holier 
than men are, because they live in Heaven, in the Presence of 
God, Who is All Holy ; and in Heaven there can be no sin. 
To-day the Church sets apart to commemorate, or think espe- 
cially about, the holy angels. St Michael is mentioned in the 
Bible as one of the chief among the angels, so his name is 
given to this day, and he is called Saint Michael, because he 
is holy. 

The word angel means a messenger; and we often read in 
the Bible that God sent messages to men by angels. When 
Abraham lifted up his hand to slay his son Isaac, in obedience 



to God's commands, an angel called to him out of Heaven. 
An angel appeared to Balaam when he was striking his ass, 
which stopped when it saw the angel in the path. And, in the 
New Testament, an angel told the Blessed Virgin Mary of the 
wondrous Babe that should be given to her. And, only a little 
while ago, I told you how an angel appeared to St Peter, when 
he was in prison, and opened the gates to set him free. 

In the Collect for to-day we read, "Thy holy angels always 
do Thee service in Heaven." This service is praising God ; and 
we are following the example of the angels, and sharing their 
service, when we praise God on earth. In one Hymn, that is 
said every morning in Church, we say, "To Thee all angels cry 
aloud;" that means, give thanks to God and sing His praise; 
and what they sing, we too sing : " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God 
of Hosts ; Lord of Heaven and earth, and all things that are 
therein." Listen for this the first time you are at Church in 
the morning, and remember that the holy angels are praising 
God with those words in Heaven ; and, if you think of what 
words are being said or sung, and join in them, you will be 
joining the heavenly worship of the angels. But to join the 
worship of the angels properly, we must do as they do — offer 
praise with pure, that is, clean hearts — hearts clean from wilful 
sin. So the more we try to keep our naughty tempers down 



76 ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS. 

— our wandering careless thoughts in order, — the more we shall 
be like the holy angels, and the more fit to live with them 
hereafter, when God shall call us Home — to His Home and 
their Home — Heaven. 

The Collect for to-day concludes with the prayer, that by 
God's appointment "they may succour," that is, help "and de- 
fend us upon earth;" and God has given us promises written 
in His Holy Bible, that they shall so help and defend us. Is 
it not a happy and a good thought, that holy messengers from 
God may be round our path, though we cannot see them, and 
their bright wings folding us round to keep us from harm ? 
And I think it should keep us from doing what will grieve 
these holy watchers ; for, as we are told that there is joy 
among the angels of God when anybody on earth is sorry for 
his sins, so we may be sure that they turn away sorrowing, 
when anyone, even a little child, offends the good and holy 
God, Whom they love and delight to serve. 

Now, my child, I will end this lesson by telling you a 
beautiful story, which will show you how the angels encamp 
round about God's servants. 

Long ago, the King of Syria wished to do evil to the King 
of Israel ; but while the man of God, Elisha the prophet, was 
with the Israelites, r!e could not ; so the King of Syria sent 



ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS. 77 

his hosts — soldiers, and horses, and chariots of war, — by night ; 
and they surrounded the city where Elisha dwelt, and waited 
till the light broke to take him prisoner. Now, when Elisha's 
servant saw this great host, he said, "Alas! my master, how 
shall we do?" And his master answered, " Fear not; for 
they that are with us are more than they which are against 
us." Then Elisha prayed that his poor trembling servant 
might see why he said so. And God heard his prayer, and 
opened the servant's eyes ; and he looked, and behold the 
whole mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire — an 
angel host sent down from Heaven to succour and defend 
Elisha upon earth ; and he was saved from the hand of his 
enemies. 



^>t %u\t. 



"Luke the beloved physician." 

There is, perhaps, less known about this Saint than any other 
who is commemorated by the Church. He was an Evangelist, 
but he was not one of the twelve Apostles. It is not known 
certainly when he became a follower of the Blessed Saviour, 
or even whether he was permitted to know Him while upon 
earth. 

St Luke was a physician or do6lor — a healer of the sick. 
It is said too that he was a painter, that he had the gift of 
painting pictures; but we can only be sure of what the Bible 
tells us ; and though there are in it but three notices of St 
Luke, they are enough to prove to us that his character was a 
very beautiful one. He was with St Paul in some of his 
travels, and he wrote an account of all that was done by the 



ST LUXE. 79 



Church for many years after our Lord went back to Heaven. 
This book is called the "Acts of the Apostles," because the 
Apostles were the founders of the Church in all lands. 

In speaking of St Paul's voyages St Luke says, u we endea- 
voured to go," shewing that he was with him. He was there 
when the ship was wrecked by the violence of the storm ; and 
when all the passengers were full of fear, St Paul alone was 
calm, trusting in God, Who he knew could rule the raging of 
the sea. St Luke describes the shipwreck, as being then 
with St Paul ; and how, at last, on planks and broken pieces 
of the ship they all came safe to land. He was there when 
the deadly serpent crawled out of the wood, when the warm 
fire disturbed it, and it fastened on St Paul's hand, and he 
shook it off and felt no harm. And he went on to Rome with 
St Paul, always preaching and teaching, being a healer of the 
soul as well as of the body. 

It is during this time that St Paul speaks of St Luke in 
his Epistles. Once he names him and others " my fellow- 
labourers," proving that they worked together. Again, he speaks 
of " Luke the beloved physician." And lastly, he says, " Only 
Luke is with me;" this was just after he had told how one of 
his disciples, Demas by name, had left him ; but St Luke 
remained faithful to him through imprisonment to death. If he 



8o ST LUKE. 



was thus faithful to an earthly friend, we can have no doubt 
that he was so to his Heavenly Master. 

It is believed that he was with St Paul until the day of 
the holy Apostle's martyrdom, comforting him to the very last; 
and that then he travelled about for awhile, until his own time 
came. Then he was ready to lay down his life; and, for want 
of a cross, his enemies in their haste hung him on a tree. 
St Luke's occupation was one of kindness ; to heal the sick is 
doing great good, and when done from love of the Creator it 
is made a holy service; but higher far is it to minister to, or 
help, the soul ; and St Luke did both. And so, in the Collect 
for to-day, we pray that our souls may be healed from their 
disease, sin, by the wholesome doctrine that he taught. Let us 
then strive, as he did, to do everything as in the service of 
God, and to His glory. 




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" Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained 
you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your 
fruit should remain!' 

Once before, you remember, the Church commemorates two 
Apostles together. Then, it was St Philip and St James who 
were thus joined ; now, it is St Simon and St Jude. St Simon 
is described by two names : in St Matthew's Gospel he is called 
Simon the Canaanite, and St Luke styles him Simon Zelotes. 
Both these names probably meant the same thing — zeal; and 
he was thus distinguished, because he belonged to a seel: (or 
party) among the Jews called Zealots. 

There is no account given of his being called by the Saviour 
nor is there any mention of him in the Gospels, except in the 
lists of the Twelve Apostles. It is thought, however, that when 
the Apostles separated, so as to spread the knowledge of the 



II 



82 ST SIMON AND ST JUDE. 

Saviour as far and wide as possible, St Simon travelled into 
countries far away from Jerusalem; some say even to Britain, 
for then our own land was in darkness and knew not the 
light of the Gospel. The people, who lived here, worshipped 
false gods and needed to be taught. It is further believed by 
some that St Simon was martyred in Britain ; but however this 
may be, we may safely think of him as full of zeal and dili- 
gence in the work of an Apostle. 

St Jude is named by two names, partly given him to dis- 
tinguish him from Judas Iscariot, and partly in commendation 
of his wisdom and zeal. These names were Lebbaeus, which 
means a person of prudence and understanding ; and Thaddeus, 
a person zealous in praising God. 

Like St Simon, there is but little known of him, and we 
have no account of his call ; but he is mentioned not only in 
the lists of the Twelve, but once besides. It was the last night 
that our Blessed Saviour was with His disciples here. He was 
telling them that He would send them a Comforter, even, the 
Holy Ghost. It was a hard thing for them to understand. 
Much that the Lord said could only be understood by faith ; 
and St Jude, we are told by St John, asked how it could be. 
The Lord Jesus answered him, "that to those who love Him 
He would come, and make His abode with them." It is not 



ST SIMON AND ST JUDE. 83 

easy to understand this, my child ; and St Jude might have 
questioned on, but he, having a loving and true heart — a heart 
set to believe and not to question — , was satisfied. 

We also have an epistle or letter, written by St Jude, and 
addressed to all who were faithful in the Church. He there 
calls himself "Brother of James," that is, of St James the 
Just, also called St James the Less, whose name is joined with 
St Philip. 

Very little is known of St Jude. He is supposed to have 
preached up and down Judea and the countries round about. 
But we may learn one thing, that, although his goodness and 
wisdom were so great that they caused him to receive names, 
in commendation of them, he is not brought much into notice. 
So that, you see, we may serve God quietly, and be but little 
observed by men, and yet be His faithful servants: and in 
little things we may follow St Jude's example. If, when we 
do anything we know to be good and right, we do it quietly, 
and not call people's attention to it, our Father, who seeth in 
secret, will see it and know it; and will be alii the more pleased 
that we did right, not to be praised for it, but because we 
love Him and wish to please Him. 



ail ^amt^ Bag* 

" iw #// /^/ saints, Lord, 
Who strove in Thee to live, 
Who followed Thee, obeyed, adored, 
Our grateful hymn receive. 

For this Thy name we bless. 
And humbly pray that we 
May follow them in holiness, 
And live and die in Thee! 1 

This is the last Saints' Day in the Church's year. One by 
one the example of the holy Apostles and Evangelists (those 
whom our Blessed Saviour sent forth to preach His Gospel, 
and the four who wrote the record of His ministry whilst on 
earth,) have been brought before us, and we have given praise 
and glory to God on their behalf; but, lest many an unknown 



ALL SAINTS' DAY. 85 

child of God should be forgotten, the Church has set apart 
this day to commemorate, or keep us in remembrance of, "all 
Saints." You remember, I told you that the meaning of the 
word saint is holy; so when, in the Collect for to-day, we 
pray that God will "grant us grace so to follow His Blessed 
Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that with them we may 
come to those unspeakable joys, which He has prepared for 
those who love Him," — we mean all those holy persons who 
have loved Him, and who have, as in our Baptism we all have 
promised to do, "continued Christ's faithful soldiers and ser- 
vants to their lives' end." 

"All those who ever loved the Lord," as well as those 
whose names are known to the world, the Church remembers 
to-day, and sets before us for an example. And there is one 
thing about this day, which makes it very different from any 
other Saint's Day. Each year adds to the number of the 
Saints we commemorate to-day. More are included in the 
number of "all Saints" to-day than last year; more will be 
next year than to-day ; because each year is adding to the 
Saints of God, who have safely passed through this world by 
His grace, and who have entered into "the rest that remaineth 
for the people of God." 

God has joined in one communion and fellowship His Church 



86 ALL SAINTS' DAY. 

on earth and His Church in Heaven. Communion is doing 
the same things. We at our Baptism were joined to the Body, 
of which Christ is the Head. God is our God and their God, 
we worship Him together. Christ is our life and their life; 
and, though 

We are not all together now, 
For some are dead, and gone before, 
we "are all made one in Christ," and we can draw very near 
to God and to them, though we are still on earth. 

Fellowship means sharing things and being joined together; 
and I think you can understand that God's Saints are like 
children of one family, some of whom are gone to their home 
above, while others, we ourselves amongst them, have still to 
strive and pray that we may be worthy to go there too, when 
God shall call us. 

And now, my child, my lessons on the Saints' Days are 
ended. I have told you of the holy men of old, whose ex- 
amples the Church sets before us. By St Andrew's example I 
have tried to teach you readily to obey when your Saviour 
calls ; by St Paul's, to spend your energy in God's service, 
to give Him your whole heart, and to strive your very utmost 
to please Him, Who has so loved you. You have learnt from 
St Peter to mistrust yourself, to be humble ; lest, when you 



ALL SAINTS' DAY. By 

think you are safe, you fall. And from all, to trust only in 
that heavenly strength which will help your own weakness. 

But all this is of no use, my little one, unless you think 
of these things, and try really to follow the examples of these 
Saints, whose histories I have been telling you. They had 
trials to endure and temptations to overcome, as you have ; 
and their hearts were by nature sinful, as yours is. But 
by God's grace they were more than conquerors— -you can, if 
you will but fight manfully with them, by God's help over- 
come as they overcame, and obtain, for our Saviour Jesus 
Christ's sake, the reward. To you it will be said, as to 
them, " Well done, good and faithful servant ; enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord." 

F. E. C. 



Cambridge : 

PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 












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